A donkey fan club? After 15 years of anonymity, Darlin' has a big one

"I've had animals all my life; we understand each other," Darrell Schultz of Charlotte said Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018, while feeding his donkey Darlin' in the field near his farm near the corner of Packard Highway and Stewart Road.(Photo: Matthew Dae Smith/Lansing State Journal)Buy Photo

CHARLOTTE - At four feet tall, with a pink muzzle that stands out against her thick coat of white hair, Darlin' has kept to herself for the last 15 years.

Owner Darrell Schultz, 73, stops short of calling her a "people" donkey. Instead, she serves as a "guard," protecting the farm from muskrats and coyotes, and keeping the cows who sometimes share her pasture company.

She often stands by herself, reluctant to come toward him when he needs to trim her hoofs. He usually fills his pocket with treats to coax her close whenever he visits her pasture at the corner of North Steward Road and Packard Highway.

Darlin' just doesn't like the limelight, Schultz said.

Her seemingly sudden local celebrity status is a surprise to the Charlotte farmer.

Thanks to a Facebook post written by local resident and mother, Jenny Bowerman, on Jan. 3, Charlotte area residents have come forward en masse to share their affection for Darlin'.

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Darlin' the donkey has spent 15 years at the same farm, and her community has taken notice.
Rachel Greco and Matthew Dae Smith/Lansing State Journal

Many have confessed a shared curiosity about the introverted Jenny who's lived in the same community her whole life.

Young children ask their parents to drive by Darlin's corner pasture every day, and they often slow down and wave when they go by. Long-time residents say her presence is a constant they've come to count on.

A short trek out to her partially enclosed shelter, and a few treats, gets you face-to-face with Darlin', but short of a few sniffs and the occasional ear twitch, she's unconcerned with any adoring public. Or media.

"We had no idea who owned her and we knew nothing about her," Bowerman said.

Last week she decided to investigate.

"I’m not sure who the owner of the donkey is on the corner of Packard and Stewart but my kids are obsessed with it," read her Jan. 3 Facebook post in a local Charlotte group. "They named it Gregory, they talk about it all the time and they look forward to seeing him whenever we get a chance to drive by. Just wanted to let you know how much joy he brings to our family."

Bowerman said she expected a few comments, and possibly a bit of an explanation about the animal.

But she never expected Darlin's fellow admirers would come out of the woodwork, with their own well wishes and stories about the little white donkey.

Among its members is Saige Shook and her daughter, Lilli, 7. They've lived on Packard Highway, less than half a mile from Darlin's pasture, for the last year.

Shook said they heard the donkey before they ever saw her. The sound of her loud, forceful bray travels all the way to their house, she said, but they've come to adore it.

"We talk about her every day," Shook said. "I guess maybe it's because there aren't that many donkeys around. Every time we leave our house, Lilli says, 'Where's the donkey? Where's Hee-haw."

Andrea Dunning's two boys, Chase, 4, and Carter, 2, once asked if Darlin' might be a unicorn. Her bright white fur made them wonder, she said. They've been passing by her pasture on the way to their daycare nearly every day for a year.

"She stands out," Dunning said.

Long-time resident Mark Neal, 32, said Darlin's been on the same corner lot since he was a teenager. His father used to point her out when his family drove down Stewart Road, but he'd forgotten about her until recently.

Then, in October, his brother-in-law had emergency open-heart surgery and he began making regular trips to his house nearby to visit.

"She was still there, all these years later," Neal said, who stopped and took a picture of Darlin' to share with his parents.

"It's the simple things in life that help you sometimes," he said. "When you say it, it sounds kind of funny, but it was just a nice break from all the seriousness that was going on."

Bringing people together

Schultz, sitting at his kitchen table Wednesday morning, admits he still uses a flip phone and doesn't frequent Facebook.

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Darrell Schultz with his donkey, Darlin', Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018, in her pasture off North Stewart Road in Charlotte.(Photo: Rachel Greco/Lansing State Journal)

So his son, Robert Schultz, who now lives in St. Johns, answered questions about Darlin' on Bowerman's Facebook post and gave his parents the news about her popularity.

In the last week, more cars than usual have been slowing down or pulling over to the side of Stewart Road to see her, he said.

And since they're curious, here's the scoop, according to Schultz:

First, Darlin' got her name because her previous owner, at a sheep farm near Dimondale, used the phrase a lot the day Schultz bought her.

"She kept saying, 'Now come on, Darlin,'' Schultz said. "When I got home, that's all I could remember, so her name is Darlin'."

Second, she's a very good "guard donkey," Schultz said, protecting cows that have been on the property with her at various times throughout the last 15 years, and keeping unwelcome animals off the land.

"We've got coyotes in the area," Schultz said. "But I've never had any trouble with a coyote. Other people have, but I've never lost anything."

Third, she's slow to warm up to people who visit.

"She's standoffish," Schultz said. But passing sirens make her bray, he added, and even a local school bus driver has been known to stop on the road outside her gate and toss an apple her way in warmer weather.

Bowerman said the community's shared love for Darlin' has been a bright spot on social media lately.

"It was extremely positive," she said. "Through all the negativity, a donkey kind of brought us all together."

If she's making people happy, he's happy about it, Schultz said.

"I'm glad," he said. "I think there are too many bad things going on around the world, and if they can stop and even get a smile or a laugh about that donkey, that's so much better than all that negativity. If some kid gets enjoyment watching her, it makes me feel good and puts a smile on my face. I love animals."

Contact Rachel Greco at (517) 528-2075 or rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter@GrecoatLSJ.